shrinkage C2+ Topic:Numbers & Quantity US /ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ/ UK /ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the process or amount of becoming smaller; reduction or loss Retailers report heavy shrinkage from theft each year. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the process or amount of... reductioncontractiondecreasediminutionlossshortfall ↔ Opposites expansiongrowthincreaseenlargement Word family Related forms shrinkshrunk Etymology AI details From shrink plus the noun-forming suffix -age; shrink is from Old English scrincan ('to wither, shrivel up'), from Proto-Germanic *skrenkaną. scrincan Old English *skrenkaną Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Numbers & Quantity External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # shrinkage **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ/ ## Meanings 1. the process or amount of becoming smaller; reduction or loss ## Examples - Retailers report heavy shrinkage from theft each year. ## Synonyms - reduction - contraction - decrease - diminution - loss - shortfall ## Antonyms - expansion - growth - increase - enlargement ## Related Forms - shrink - shrunk ## Roots and Affixes - Root: scrincan - Root: *skrenkaną ## Etymology From shrink plus the noun-forming suffix -age; shrink is from Old English scrincan ('to wither, shrivel up'), from Proto-Germanic *skrenkaną. ## AI Etymology Shrinkage comes from shrink plus the noun-forming suffix -age; shrink is from Old English scrincan ('to wither, shrivel up'), from Proto-Germanic *skrenkaną. The suffix is part of the word's derivational shape, marking the final grammatical or semantic role while the base supplies the central meaning. As a noun, it denotes "the process or amount of becoming smaller; reduction or loss", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Old English scrincan and Proto-Germanic *skrenkaną. Related words include shrink, shrunk. ## Topics - Numbers & Quantity markdown